


A Sight To See

by tiger_in_the_flightdeck



Category: Leverage
Genre: Case Fic, Elemental Magic, Gen, Gift Fic, Spells & Enchantments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15356841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiger_in_the_flightdeck/pseuds/tiger_in_the_flightdeck
Summary: A standard case for the crew. With some not so standard skills.Each of the crew has their own secrets that help them do the job. Sweets given to the Fair Folk, a guardian spirit, elemental magic, and glamours.





	A Sight To See

**Author's Note:**

  * For [youmaywanttoduck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/youmaywanttoduck/gifts).



> As always, a big thank you to my betas.

A pair of tiny feet scurried through the ventilation shaft ahead of Parker. She clicked her tongue a few times and rolled over onto her back to make it easier to dig into her pocket. “Just a minute,” she insisted. From her hip pocket she produced a bite-sized Snickers and a package of saltines from a diner. “Milk will expire too quickly up here, then the maintenance crew will come up and try to fix things. That’s going to mean trouble for everyone involved.” 

Rolling back over, Parker crushed the crackers and spread them in a little trail ahead of her. She unwrapped the candy and set it in the middle of the trail. 

Three little creatures came forward to investigate. For a moment, they were small glossy brown rats with too short tails and too large ears. Then, when they approached the offering, they dropped the illusion. Almost human on a miniscule scale, they wore outfits of lint and cobwebs, paper hats made from stolen documents, and backpacks which were once coin purses. Their eyes were too large, their teeth too sharp, and fingers too long. Catching sight of one of them out of the corner of the eye might have been terrifying to a regular person. 

To Parker, they were her friends. Even the ones who she had never met before, the Littles and Brownies and other Fae quickly made themselves known. Trading snacks for information helped in new places. 

The smallest of the Brownies saved his piece of chocolate in his pocket and licked his clawed hands clean before reaching out to tug on a stray wisp of hair that had slipped free from Parker’s cap. He grinned, showing needle sharp pointed little teeth, and plucked a strand of the golden hair to wind into a ball. It vanished into one of his many pockets then he pointed to the left branch of the shaft. “Two two lefts and three three rights. Jewel is held held in a magic box. Lots of light all around. Moving like ribbons, all around. Bigs walk all around. Too many bigs. All all dressed the same. Dressed like mud and nighttime. But not pretty nighttime. Goldilocks is pretty nighttime. Give Oakleaf a kiss kiss?”

Parker put her finger tip to her lips then pressed it to the Brownie’s nose. “Go, before your parents eat all the food.”

The creature scuttled back on all fours, skidding into his father and stealing a cracker crumb from his hand. 

“Hardison?” Parker slipped her ear piece back in, speaking just loud enough to be picked up. “The jewel’s being held in a glass container with sensors and laser motion detectors. I’ll need you to disable them before I can get in. Eliot, the guards are dressed in brown and black. That’s not the usual uniform here, so they’re probably hired from outside. Keep safe.” 

Inching herself along, Parker braced her hands and feet on the sides of the shaft before taking the first left. 

  
  


“Hey, maybe you can help me find my way round this place,” Eliot plastered a big, dumb guy grin on his face as he approached the hired muscle with his hands out to the sides to show that he wasn’t a threat.  _ Nothing to worry about here, buddy, it’s all good _ was etched into every inch of his stance. 

Hired Goon Number One put a hand to his hip where a gun was poorly hidden by his jacket. Eliot felt the familiar itch in his own hand, the heavy weight of a pistol he no longer carried. 

“I’m just lookin’ for the john. Some guy pointed me down this hallway, but all I’m finding is you lot. Is it this direction?” He jerked his thumb to the left, the movement just enough to catch the muscle’s attention. 

_ Down! _

Eliot dropped to one knee and snapped his hand out to catch the man’s wrist before he could reach all the way for his gun. 

_ Pull! Over your shoulder! _

Obeying the order, Eliot yanked the muscle off balance and tucked his shoulder into his belly to help flip him into the wall. He slid to the floor, stunned. 

A wisp of light bound the man from shoulder to hip and squeezed the air out of him. Not enough to kill, but to leave dazed and out of breath. Unable to jump back into the fray while Eliot turned his attention to the man’s partner. 

The sickening sound of bone on bone. Hot blood over Eliot’s knuckles. The almost voice of the wisp warning him to jump to the right. It was all chaos and confusion amid the pulsing thud in Eliot’s ears and the rush of adrenaline he always felt during a fight. 

The second man was harder to deal with than the first, and Eliot had taken a few unlucky hits before he managed to get his arm around his neck. He pressed his forearm against the other’s carotid while the wisp covered his mouth to muffle the sounds of his struggle. It took an agonisingly long time for him to go out and Eliot carefully lowered him to the floor next to his partner.

Panting hard, Eliot stood and reached up to touch the blood on his forehead. His guardian emitted a rush of emotion at him, concern tinged with disappointment. It was like clucked tongue of dismay. He felt the cool touch of not quite fingers against his forehead and cheek then his nose being pinched before the wisp finally vanished completely, satisfied that he was in one piece for now. It would watch his back, and only interfere if it was needed. For now, it would be silent. Which Eliot was grateful for. He already had enough voices in his head. 

_ Eliot, do you have the guards taken care of, yet? _

“ _ Yet, _ Hardison? Am I too slow for you? Maybe you’d like to come in here and do something for a change. I’d like to spend a job sitting in the comfort of the van once in a while!” 

  
  
  


“Yeah right, Lucille Two would chew you up and spit you out if you tried it. Get back to dealing with the guards.”

Hardison sniffed and patted the wall of the van beside his computer setup. “Don’t worry, honey. I wouldn’t make you put up with him.”

The inside of the van was dark, save for the lights from his computers and the bluish glow from the screens. Occasionally his phone would chime an alert, telling him where the rest of the team was located in the building. Parker was closing in on the safe room; Eliot was still in the hall, handling the guards; and Sophie and Nate were in the main lobby. 

“All right,” he murmured, his fingers poised over the keys of his laptop. “Let’s get those sensors off.” 

Around his fingertips, sparks of light danced and crackled. The hair stood up along the backs of his arms and he could smell the faint scent of ozone in the air as the light arced from finger to finger before he began to type. 

Hardison felt threads of himself sink into the wiring. They spread and wound themselves around the security system, allowing himself to see the glowing web of light and information in his mind’s eye. 

It was beautiful. 

His eyes darted from side to side as he followed the connection deeper into the building, tendrils moving out and returning to him, until he found the central hub that controlled the motion sensors. 

“Hello, gorgeous,” he said with a happy sigh. 

The lasers bounced and twirled, darting around the room that housed the jewel. Hardison poured himself into the system. His expression went slack as his fingers flashed over the keys. He picked up on the pattern the lasers made and convinced them to change the dance just slightly. Each one was angled in a different direction, or slowed down just enough to create a pathway between them for Parker. By the time Hardison was finished with the lasers and sensors, they were eager to help him make way for his crew. 

He was able to look after them all through the miles upon miles of cables and wires and lights and conduits that filled the building. All from the safety and comfort of his van, surrounded by his computers and keyboards and empty bottles of soda. 

“Security features are cut off. Sophie, you’re up.” 

  
  


“Thank you, Hardison. Keep your eyes open for us.” 

Sophie touched her ear to make sure her audio piece was secure and couldn’t be seen, then took out an antique compact mirror. With her back to Nate, she lightly dabbed at her nose with the pressed powder and puff while her lips moved in a silent incantation. 

She had cast this spell countless times before, and knew it by heart. It didn’t change her appearance so much as it changed the way people would remember her. It worked in tandem with her regular costumes. With her hair pulled back in a severe bun and a dotting of freckles painted onto her skin, no one would pick her out of a lineup. The guards would argue over whether her hair was red or blonde, or just how tall she was. One would insist she had striking green eyes, while the other would claim they were icy blue. The other wouldn’t remember anything about her save for the scent of her perfume and the sound of her laugh. 

Snapping the compact closed, Sophie dropped it into her handbag and left the lobby. She walked with a calm determination in her step and a sway in her hips. The bottom quarter inch of her left high heel was shaved off to give her walk an extra wiggle for more distraction. 

“Oh, thank goodness! Someone’s still here!” She affected a perfect Texan accent as she trotted forward with her knees together and her heels kicking up and out to show that she has no idea how to run. When she reached the head of security, Sophie clutched his large forearm and panted. Her cheeks were pink with just the faintest hint of sweat to make them sheen. “I was supposed to meet Mr. Collingwood here at eleven. We had an… Entertainment appointment.” She lowered her eyes and fluttered her lashes, giving him just enough information to let the man make his own conclusions. “He told me that someone at the security desk would let me into the building, but when I came in, there was no one there. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but doesn’t that seem unsafe? Leaving the desk unattended?” 

She put her hand to her chest, the sparkle of her nail varnish drawing the guard’s eye away from her face. He frowned for a moment, forgetting what it was he was supposed to be doing in the first place. Finally, he coughed and nodded. “Yes, Ma’am. I’ll go check that out right now. Mr. Collingwood, you said?” 

“Yes, but just between us you understand, he likes to be called…” With a stage whisper, Sophie leaned in, cupping a hand beside her mouth. “Bad Boy Bobby.” She clapped her hand to her chest again and tossed her head back in a rich laugh. 

All the guard would remember would be that laugh and the glint of her nail polish in the light of the elevator as he pressed the button for her. By the time the door closed, he couldn’t even be sure what they had been laughing about. 

When the elevator doors shut, Sophie grinned and shouldered her bag more comfortably. She took the pins from her hair and let it loose from its bun. She was scratching her fingers over her scalp to shake her hair out when the elevator lurched to a stop and the doors opened again. 

“Bad Boy Bobby?” Eliot snorted and held a hand out to her to help Sophie over the pile of unconscious guardsmen. 

“It was the name of my goldfish when I was a child,” she said, stepping primly past the men. 

“I never had a goldfish,” Parker put in, not looking up from the enormous ruby she was admiring her reflection in. “I had a pet rock once, though. He was very friendly.” 

_ I had a hamster, once.  _ said Hardison in their ear pieces, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. 

“We’ve got the gem, Nate. Is our exit secure?” Eliot ignored Hardison but made a mental note to tease him about that later. 

Through the audio pieces, each of them heard the thud of a body hitting a wall and a grunt of pain, then rough panting.  _ Yes, you’re safe. Everyone meet at the rear parking lot in five. _ There was silence for a moment, then-  _ Good job, guys. _

  
  
  


Nathan Ford watched his crew from one side of the brew pub’s backroom with the usual warmth of pride stirring. 

Eliot and Parker were having a thumb war and laughing carelessly while Hardison filmed it on his phone. Sophie was dozing with her feet up on Eliot’s lap and her hair over her face to block out the light. 

On the table was the ruby they had recovered. A priceless heirloom that had been stolen from a private collection three years earlier and landed an innocent man in prison. With it in safe hands, the man would be released and his family reunited. And they would get a tidy little sum from the reward the owner was offering for its return. Nate’s idea of a good job well done. 

Watching closer, Nate smiled. 

From Eliot’s hip, a wisp of light and shadow appeared to tease at the sparks of energy that were crackling around Hardison’s hands. A small, pointy creature was helping itself to the remains of milk and cereal in Parker’s bowl where it sat on the far end of the coffee table. In her sleep, Sophie murmured an ancient spell. 

They each had their own tricks and helpers. Nate’s was the ability to See it all. 

**Author's Note:**

> As I was writing this, it sort of hit me that Eliot's guardian might be the spirit of his old gun. I don't know why I like that so much, but there we go. I hope you enjoyed this!


End file.
